The Lovebirds
Paramount Pictures | Release Date (Streaming): May 22, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
15
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
VoxAlissa WilkinsonMay 27, 2020
Rae and Nanjiani are terrific comedians whose wisecracks and antics are thoroughly entertaining, so even if you know what the ending of The Lovebirds will be, it’s great fun watching them get there. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenMay 21, 2020
Rae and Nanjiani have a quicksilver chemistry, flashing from playful banter to genuine, hurtful arguing in an instant. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'HaraMay 21, 2020
The plot is insubstantial in the extreme, but Rae and Nanjiani are so cool, and their loose, free-flowing improv so winning, that you probably won’t care. Read full review
60
Screen RantSandy SchaeferMay 20, 2020
Although it makes for a better rom-com than murder-mystery, The Lovebirds is an entertaining romp powered to life by Nanjiani and Rae's chemistry. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 20, 2020
Nanijani and Rae work well together, although “chemistry” is perhaps a stretch. Read full review
58
The PlaylistRobert DanielsMay 20, 2020
Even if this rom-com never completely coalesces, Showalter’s The Lovebirds does ultimately deliver a worthwhile conclusion Read full review
50
CNNBrian LowryMay 21, 2020
Watching Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani riff off each other is intermittently fun, but that's all there is to recommend The Lovebirds, a dark, somewhat chaotic romantic comedy. Read full review
50
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaMay 20, 2020
Unfortunately, The Love Birds just isn’t that funny. Don’t get me wrong – Nanjiani and Rae are funny, and they try really hard to make this material pop. But the jokes fall flat more often than not, and the direction from Michael Showalter (who also directed Nanjiani in The Big Sick) is oddly lax, with scene after scene embracing the unstylish “point and shoot” approach. Read full review
50
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiMay 20, 2020
Most of their scenes come off as low-stakes dueling stand-up routines, rather than a plot that builds. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithMay 20, 2020
Once the film shifts into a broader comedic register, it no longer capitalizes on Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae’s gift for gab. Read full review
50
VarietyOwen GleibermanMay 20, 2020
Bits and pieces of the movie are funny. Read full review
42
The Film StageJake Kring-SchreifelsMay 20, 2020
The Lovebirds mostly feels algorithmic, a generic composite of romantic comedies and chase thrillers that races to a brisk 86 minutes. That’s more an indictment of the screenwriting than its two leads, Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae, who do their best while hopscotching around a nondescript New Orleans. Read full review
42
IndieWireDavid EhrlichMay 20, 2020
Michael Showalter’s follow-up to “The Big Sick” is as flat and algorithmic as his last rom-com was poignant and alive. The only thing the two films really have in common is a winning performance from Kumail Nanjiani. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Angelica Jade BastienMay 25, 2020
This is a film designed to be watched while performing a menial task — folding the laundry or washing dishes. Even during a pandemic, or perhaps especially so, we have more pressing things to do with our time than drain it away watching mediocre Netflix comedies. Read full review
40
TheWrapSteve PondMay 21, 2020
Nanjiani and Rae are funny and likable people who try very hard to bring some life to this enterprise, but the action is too preposterous for the laughs to make much headway. They’re fun to watch, in a way, but you really wish they had something better to do. Read full review
More From This Movie

59 Critic Reviews

5.2 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL